The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 166

166 Goodbyes at the Station 2

Eve’s stomach tightened, because she’d noticed it all morning.

The clipped phone calls.

The pauses where Ryan stared at nothing with a cold focus.

The way his jaw tightened at certain notifications.

Eve had asked once and he’d said, Later.

It hadn’t felt like dismissal.

It had felt like containment.

Camila leaned closer, voice low so the men wouldn’t hear clearly. “He’s carrying something.”

Eve’s eyes stayed on the windshield ahead. “I know.”

Camila squeezed her hand. “And you’re carrying everything.”

Eve swallowed hard. “I don’t know how not to.”

Camila exhaled. “You learn. Slowly. Like everything else.”

The ride stayed quiet after that, not awkward, but tender in the way that happens when everyone knows the same fear but nobody wants to speak it into existence.

Ryan drove smoothly, controlled, never too fast, never too slow.

Mitre watched the road like a man who trusted no one fully.

Camila kept checking Eve’s face, mothering her with looks, as if she could read the exact moment anxiety

tightened.

At one point, Ryan glanced in the rear-view mirror, eyes meeting Eve’s for a brief second.

Not a long look.

Not an emotional one.

Just a silent check: Are you still here?

Eve nodded slightly without thinking.

Ryan’s gaze returned to the road.

Camila’s lips curved faintly. “He checks you now.”

Eve’s throat tightened. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

Camila’s voice stayed gentle. “It means he is learning.”

The Goodbye at the Station 7

Mitre let out a low sound. “He better.”

Ryan’s voice came flat. “I can hear you.”

Mitre’s mouth twitched. “Good.”

Eve’s anxiety spiked again as the station came into view.

The building wasn’t grand. It was practical, busy, full of movement.

People rushed with suitcases, shoulders bumping, voices calling farewells. The air outside looked grey

with exhaust, heavy with the smell of fuel and departure.

Ryan parked in a spot near the entrance.

He got out first, moving around to open the back door.

Camila stepped out, adjusting her coat. Mitre followed, suitcase in hand.

Eve climbed out last, her feet touching the pavement as if she’d stepped onto the edge of something.

The station’s loudspeaker crackled overhead with an announcement Eve didn’t fully catch.

All she heard was the word departure.

Camila turned to Eve immediately, arms open again.

Eve stepped into her without hesitation, hugging tightly, breathing in the scent of Camila’s perfume and

comfort as if she could store it in her lungs for later.

Camila held her firmly. “Hey,” she murmured. “Look at me.”

Eve pulled back.

Camila cupped her cheek, eyes bright. “I’m coming back for the baby’s birth.”

Eve’s throat closed. “You don’t have to,

“I will,” Camila said, cutting through the reflexive self-denial. “And not for a brief visit.”

Eve blinked rapidly. “Camila…”

“I will stay longer,” Camila continued, voice steady, almost fierce. “I will help you. You will not do

motherhood alone.”

Eve’s eyes stung. Gratitude rose like pain, sharp, heavy, undeserved in her mind.

“You promise?” Eve whispered, voice breaking.

Camila’s thumb brushed her cheek. “I promise.”

Eve let out a shaky breath, nodding.

Mitre stepped closer, clearing his throat like he didn’t want to make it sentimental but couldn’t avoid it

either.

tels Codbyes at the Station 2

He opened his arms awkwardly, not as fluid as Camila, but solid.

Eve stepped into him, and his embrace was different, quieter, firmer, carrying the same message without softness.

Family wasn’t always blood.

Family was the people who showed up when you were scared.

Mitre’s voice came low near her ear. “Call if anything feels wrong.”

Eve swallowed. “Okay.”

“Not ‘okay’ like you’re agreeing to be polite,” Mitre said. “Okay like you mean it.”

Eve nodded, tighter this time. “I mean it.”

Mitre pulled back and looked at her face like he was memorising it. “And don’t let him back in.”

Eve’s stomach tightened. “I won’t.”

Mitre’s gaze flicked briefly to Ryan. “And you.”

Ryan stepped forward, expression controlled. “She won’t be alone.”

Mitre held his gaze, measuring. “Good.”

Camila glanced between them, as if she could sense the tension under the words, Steven, Leah, the

missing fiancée, whatever was coming next.

She turned back to Ryan and reached for him.

Ryan hesitated for a fraction of a second, then hugged her.

It wasn’t stiff. It wasn’t performative. It was sincere enough that Eve felt something twist in her chest.

Camila held him like a mother might hold a son she didn’t give birth to but still claimed in her heart.” Thank you,” she murmured.

Ryan’s voice was low. “For what.”

“For giving us room in your home,” Camila said. Then she corrected herself gently, eyes flicking to Eve.”

For giving her room.”

Ryan’s throat worked once. “She’s not,” He stopped, then said instead, “You gave her a safe place when my family didn’t.”

The words were quiet, but they landed.

Eve’s eyes stung again.

Ryan hugged Mitre next.

Mitre’s embrace was brief and solid, one hand patting Ryan’s back once, like an unspoken agreement.

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Tor Doodbyes at the Station ?

“Take care,” Mitre said.

Ryan’s gaze stayed steady. “Always.”

A loudspeaker crackled again, announcing the train’s arrival.

A rush of people shifted toward the platform.

Camila’s hand found Eve’s again instantly. “Come.”

They walked together through the station, weaving past strangers, luggage wheels rattling, voices rising and falling with goodbye.

Eve’s chest tightened with each step.

At the platform, the air smelled stronger, metal, fuel, rain trapped in concrete.

The train arrived with a long groan, brakes screeching, doors sliding open.

Camila turned to Eve, smile wide like she could hold the world at bay by refusing to look afraid.

Evels throat closed.

Camila hugged her again, tight. “You will be fine,” she whispered. “And even if you’re not, you will call me.”

Eve nodded, face pressed into Camila’s shoulder. “I will.”

Camila pulled back, still holding her face. “No shutting down. No pretending. No carrying fear like a secret.

Eve’s lips trembled. “Okay.”

Camila kissed her forehead and stepped back toward the train, still smiling as if smiling could ward off

bad luck.

Mitre squeezed Eve’s shoulder once, a silent reassurance, then turned and followed Camila.

They stepped inside.

Camila stood at the doorway, waving.

Mitre stood behind her, watchful even as he left.

Eve raised her hand, waving back, her throat tightening.

The train doors slid shut.

Camila’s smile was still visible through the window as the train began to move.

Eve watched until her blurred reflection replaced her.

Watched until the train pulled away.

And something inside her cracked quietly.

45

Tony Goodbyes at the Station 2

Her throat closed.

Her eyes burned.

She whispered, “Please come back soon,” like it was a prayer she couldn’t stop herself from making.

Ryan stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

The weight of it was steady, warm, protective.

Eve leaned into him without thinking.

For a moment, she allowed herself to breathe.

Then she felt Ryan go still.

The softness in his posture faded.

Eve pulled back slightly and saw the change on his face, jaw tightening, eyes sharpening.

He was looking at his phone.

Reading something.

The air around him turned colder, like a switch had been flipped.

Eve’s stomach dropped. “Ryan?”

He didn’t answer immediately. His gaze stayed on the screen, scanning, absorbing.

Eve’s heart thudded harder. “What is it?”

Ryan lowered the phone slowly, his expression controlled, but the warmth was gone.

He looked at Eve, arm still around her shoulders, but now his hold felt less like comfort and more like a

shield.

Eve’s voice came out thin. “Ryan, what, ”

His eyes held hers for a beat too long.

Then he said only, “We need to be careful.”

And Eve realises goodbyes don’t just make space for loneliness, they make space for enemies.

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